Other side of ponds

Australian wine mogul Bob Oatley has announced plans to enter a team in the America’s Cup The vintner filed his challenge to the Golden Gate Yacht Club Oracle Team USA are the defending champions of the elite sailing trophy The Americans fought back to defeat Emirates New Zealand (CNN) — Australian tycoon Bob Oatley is turning from wine to water as he announced his intention to build a team to challenge defending America’s Cup champions Oracle Team USA. The renowned vintner filed his intention to challenge for the 35th edition of sailing’s blue ribbon event Monday. Oatley — a man who is described as “as famous for his wine as he is for sailing” — lodged his intent with San Francisco Golden Gate Yacht Club. The club is classed as the “defender and trustee” of the trophy after its team, owned by American billionaire Larry Ellison, won the 34th America’s Cup last Wednesday. Oracle Team USA staged a magnificent comeback from 8-1 down to sail to a 9-8 win over Emirates New Zealand to claim the oldest trophy in sport. The American boat was packed with an international crew and skippered by Australian Jimmy Spithill. A Comeback for the Ages The sailors who race the America’s Cup Oatley said seeing what the sailors from the southern hemisphere achieved on the waters of San Francisco Bay persuaded him it was the right time to enter an Australian team to challenge Team USA. “Given Australia’s previous success in the America’s Cup, the Admiral’s Cup and Olympic yachting, and as proud Australians, we think it is time for our nation to be back in our sport’s pinnacle event,” Oatley said. “The recently completed America’s Cup in San Francisco has revolutionized the sport for sailors and fans, and we were excited to see how many Australians played key roles on the teams and in the regatta organization.” Oatley lodged his entry through the Hamilton Island Yacht Club. The entrepreneur owns the island off the east coast of Australia and has taken to the waters with great success, seeing his crews win the Admiral’s Cup and consecutive Sydney to Hobart yacht races. Details on the dates and venue for the next edition of the America’s Cup are due to be published in the first few months of 2014.

USA Graphite to Commence Exploration at Nevada Graphite Properties

exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of graphite properties in North America, is pleased to announce that it will immediately launch an initial exploration program for its current portfolio of graphite properties in Nevada. The program is expected to include detailed surface mapping, historic data compilation, and planning prior to a comprehensive exploration and drill program on one or more initial targets. “USA Graphite has assembled an excellent portfolio of graphite exploration properties right here in the United States where, if successfully developed, they could help build a more reliable supply of this essential commodity for our own domestic market,” stated Wayne Yamamoto, President and CEO of USA Graphite. “I look forward to building corporate momentum as we ramp up exploration activities at our Nevada properties and also hope to add new critical personnel on the ground and in the office to help lead our strategic planning and exploration teams in the near future.” Global demand for large flake graphite has been rising for use in many new technology applications, such as lithium-ion and vanadium batteries, fuel cells, semiconductors, transistors, graphene, touch screens, photovoltaic (PV) cells, spintronics, superconductivity, sensors, DNA sequencing, nuclear power generation, and wind power. Lithium-ion batteries, widely used in electronics like cell phones, power tools and notebook computers contain almost twenty times (20x) more graphite than lithium. According to a 2012 research report from investment banker Canaccord Genuity, “Annual flake graphite production will have to increase by a factor of six by 2020 to meet incremental lithium carbonate requirements for batteries.” China and India account for the majority of the world’s graphite supply with China accounting for 70-80%. Most of China’s current graphite production is considered lower grade small flake. China is a net importer of large flake graphite and has imposed strict export restrictions and quotas to retain its own graphite resources. Natural graphite is not currently mined in the United States in commercial quantities. About USA Graphite: USA Graphite is a publicly traded U.S. exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of graphite properties in North America. USA Graphite intends to establish itself as a strategic domestic graphite supplier in the United States. The Company is currently advancing graphite projects in Nevada, offering what the Company believes to be considerable potential for the discovery of economic reserves of large flake, high-grade graphite; Blue Wing Mountains (1,985 acres – Pershing County), Gordon Creek (200 acres – Elko County), and Ruby Mountains (785 acres – Elko County).

The Best High School Football Coach will be determined via three rounds of voting, with state round voting closing on October 8. The 51 winners in each state plus Washington, D.C. will then advance to a regional round which runs from noon (ET) on October 9 until noon (ET) on October 18, where they will be divided among eight regions of six or seven coaches apiece. The eight regional winners then move onto the national round, which starts at noon (ET) Oct. 21 and ends at noon (ET) Oct. 29. The champion is crowned based on most votes in the final round. The coach chosen as America’s Best High School Football Coach will receive $2,000 for his/her athletic department, while second place will be awarded $1,000. Third place will receive $500, fourth will take $250 and fifth will be awarded $100. All eight finalists will receive banners for their schools. The “Best Of” contest series launched last November with the best high school football rivalry competition, won by Brookfield vs. Marceline in Missouri. In January, Hartford (Vt.) was crowned as the People’s Champion high school football team. Last spring, the Centralia (Ill.) Orphans were named the best high school mascot in a contest where 80 million total votes were cast.